Purdue University's economics department is housed within the school of business and is known for developing influential economists. The school's experimental economics laboratory is named in honor of former Purdue Professor and 2002 Nobel laureate Vernon Smith, and the Daniels School's dean is a renowned global monetary policy expert who, before joining Purdue, had been the longest-serving Federal Reserve Bank president in the country and ranked as the seventh-most influential economist in the world in 2014. Alumni from our undergraduate, master's, and PhD programs in economics are leading scholars, educators, consultants and analysts in a wide variety of fields.
We build upon program curricula by offering undergraduates and master's students valuable student employment opportunities within the Daniels School as research assistants, teaching assistants, and more.
Our undergraduate economics area provides students with the analytical and quantitative skills needed to stand out to employers. Graduates pursue successful careers or move on to graduate studies. We offer two Bachelor of Science degrees, through the business school, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, through the College of Liberal Arts. We also offer several econ minors, open to all Purdue students (except economics majors). Our BS degree in Quantitative Business Economics (QBE) is new for fall 2024. Andres Vargas is the academic director of our undergraduate programs in economics.
Purdue’s online master’s program in economics teaches students how to think analytically and quantitatively to study economic and business outcomes like production, growth, inflation, employment, and more. We also offer specializations like Business and Data Analytics among others which can help students tailor their education to give them a fulfilling career. Ralph Siebert is the academic director of our master's program in economics.
The PhD economics program at the Daniels School provides students with a foundation in macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics while allowing them to choose a specialty. Graduates of this program go on to have successful careers conducting frontier research, shaping policies, and influencing business strategy. Cathy Zhang is the academic director of our PhD program in economics.
